Niger to Stop Payment of Electricity Debt Over Poor Supply

Niger State government has threatened to stop the payment of electricity debt to Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) if the power outage in the state persists.
The state Commissioner for Works, Alhaji Abdulmalik Cheche, who disclosed this while briefing journalists after the state executive council meeting on Thursday, said the power failure in the state had persisted despite government’s pleas to the power company to increase electricity supply.
He said the state which hosts three Hydro power generation stations with 4,800 megawatts combined capacity (1,600MW each) should not suffer challenges of power outage, stressing that since AEDC has refused to increase electricity supply, the state government will stop all payment to the company.
“It was resolved in the council that the state may decide to stop its own debt payment to the AEDC if the service they provide did not improve. The state has also resolved to stop provision of transformers since the power sector is no longer owned by the federal government but the private sector,” the commissioner stated.
Cheche urged the people of the state to be patient on the matter, adding that government is planning for an alternative source of power supply.
“We are calling on our people to continue to exercise patience as plans are under way to have an alternative state owned backup power supply that will be generated and distributed directly to the state,” he said

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